Tokai Goldtop

ducblancpale said:

Received my LS150 Gold Top a few days ago After playing and comparing it with my R8, I can say that the build quality is very good for the price paid and the playability is exceptional. The only thing I'm on the fence about is the stock pickups. On Bridge position, compared to the burstbucker on the R8, it sounds muddier but with richer harmonic overtones. On the Neck position, I don't like it at all...it sounds like it has a weak output. Anyone upgraded the stock pups?

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Hi, I also have an Ls-150 Gt, and I'm really happy with the guitar. To the pickups, that?s the sort of the way I feel: So I said to myself, are they that bad to pay a lot of money for better ones, and my answer has to be no. There are probably better ones out there, but it all depends on what you are using the guitar for. Me personally, I'm playing a bit of everything in my band and they are just great for my needs. The only thing I had to do with them was dip them in wax and that helped a lot with microphonics. That?s not to say in the future I will not be temped to try different ones. Hope this is of some help.
Thanks
Ps- If you are going to change them tell me how it goes with the new ones.


www.dukeamps.de

I'm going to try out the stock pups for another week or so to get a firmer impression of them. After that, I will swap in a set of WRC pups (CR/GW) that I have and see how they sound

The LS150 is really a very playable guitar I do wish that the pickup rings are flushed with the contour of the body (Mine have gaps) and the backplates are cut correctly to size though. That's really something they should have done properly from the factory. Japanese usually have very good QC

I've had some of the most experienced pro guitarists in South Africa playing various models with the MK2 pickups in them...not one has even considered changing pickups, that's how good they are.

If you're used to your R8 pickups and setting your amps up for those pickups, and used to that sound/tone, then take a little time to re-tweak things and get used to the MK2s.
They sound extremely good in the Love Rocks, and they sound even better in the ES models.

Or. spend $300 and change them.

I tried increasing and decreasing the pickups height but still can't get rid of the muddy tone. ****...the burstbuckers just sound alot more crisper and defined but I will try playing with the amp settings. I have the R8 for awhile now so I had plenty of time to dial in the amp for the burstbuckers...maybe the MKIIs just need different settings

dukeamps said:

ducblancpale said:

Received my LS150 Gold Top a few days ago After playing and comparing it with my R8, I can say that the build quality is very good for the price paid and the playability is exceptional. The only thing I'm on the fence about is the stock pickups. On Bridge position, compared to the burstbucker on the R8, it sounds muddier but with richer harmonic overtones. On the Neck position, I don't like it at all...it sounds like it has a weak output. Anyone upgraded the stock pups?

Click to expand...

Hi, I also have an Ls-150 Gt, and I'm really happy with the guitar. To the pickups, that?s the sort of the way I feel: So I said to myself, are they that bad to pay a lot of money for better ones, and my answer has to be no. There are probably better ones out there, but it all depends on what you are using the guitar for. Me personally, I'm playing a bit of everything in my band and they are just great for my needs. The only thing I had to do with them was dip them in wax and that helped a lot with microphonics. That?s not to say in the future I will not be temped to try different ones. Hope this is of some help.
Thanks
Ps- If you are going to change them tell me how it goes with the new ones.


www.dukeamps.de

Click to expand...

Hi, maybe the vol poti is not correct, because if it is not a 500k poti you will not get the full output and some of the treble will go to ground, and then it will sound to muddy. Or if it is ok you can maybe try a 1m poti and see if that helps. Then the pickup should run wide open. I have noticed that my neck pickup is also a little muddy, but my neck pickup seems to have a higher output than the bridge pickup, and I have to keep it a good bit lower than the bridge pickup, otherwise I can really hear the difference in volume between the two. Which would make me think that your vol poti is not correct.



www.dukeamps.de

dukeamps said:

dukeamps said:

ducblancpale said:

Received my LS150 Gold Top a few days ago After playing and comparing it with my R8, I can say that the build quality is very good for the price paid and the playability is exceptional. The only thing I'm on the fence about is the stock pickups. On Bridge position, compared to the burstbucker on the R8, it sounds muddier but with richer harmonic overtones. On the Neck position, I don't like it at all...it sounds like it has a weak output. Anyone upgraded the stock pups?

Click to expand...

Hi, I also have an Ls-150 Gt, and I'm really happy with the guitar. To the pickups, that?s the sort of the way I feel: So I said to myself, are they that bad to pay a lot of money for better ones, and my answer has to be no. There are probably better ones out there, but it all depends on what you are using the guitar for. Me personally, I'm playing a bit of everything in my band and they are just great for my needs. The only thing I had to do with them was dip them in wax and that helped a lot with microphonics. That?s not to say in the future I will not be temped to try different ones. Hope this is of some help.
Thanks
Ps- If you are going to change them tell me how it goes with the new ones.


www.dukeamps.de

Click to expand...

Hi, maybe the vol poti is not correct, because if it is not a 500k poti you will not get the full output and some of the treble will go to ground, and then it will sound to muddy. Or if it is ok you can maybe try a 1m poti and see if that helps. Then the pickup should run wide open. I have noticed that my neck pickup is also a little muddy, but my neck pickup seems to have a higher output than the bridge pickup, and I have to keep it a good bit lower than the bridge pickup, otherwise I can really hear the difference in volume between the two. Which would make me think that your vol poti is not correct.



www.dukeamps.de

Click to expand...

There will always be more output from a neck pickup even when the neck and bridge pickups have identical output - the problem is that the strings vibrate far more over the neck pickup than they do over the bridge pickup, due to the fact that the bridge pickup is very close to where the strings are motionless (at the saddles). Neck pickups are usually 500 to 1K ohms lower in resistance than the bridge pickup, and also set at a level further away from the strings to try and balance the outputs of the two. Bridge pickup will usually be as close to the strings as possible for the same reason.

So with the guitar in question there could also be two pickups of the same output in it by mistake. The pot resistance should be 500k, and yes that pot may only be reading 300k or something like that, but this mainly affects treble response which, when reduced, makes it sound like the pickup is lacking in output, but really it is not cutting through. It's definitely worth checking the resistance of the pickups if you can. Another possibility is that the wiring is "modern" wiring, and changing it to 50's style wiring could give a bit more open sound.
(this has been suggested by others here - it was 'easy crossing' who recently did this mod to his LS-150).
See this thread: http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=15888

All this is only suggestions, and I don't like 1 meg pots for the reason that what you plug the guitar into will have to have at least a 1 meg input impedance as well, or you could lose treble at that point also. Many fuzz pedals and other effects are only about 500k input impedance, and most amp inputs are 1 meg. On the other hand all this doesn't prevent you from getting a sound that you like in spite of treble losses through the chain! In spite of all that I've said, a 1 meg pot could remove the mud, but maybe a treble bleed mod is another option?

Does anyone know who makes the bridge and tailpiece for the LS150? Are they made of aluminum?

ducblancpale said:

Does anyone know who makes the bridge and tailpiece for the LS150? Are they made of aluminum?

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Tailpiece is aluminum and the bridge has brass saddles..... not sure of the maker. Gotoh perhaps?

"Made in Japan" is embossed on both items

ducblancpale said:

"Made in Japan" is embossed on both items

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As they are on mine too.